Final puppy returned to Sterling shelter

As happy endings go, this one is right up there with “Lassie, Come Home.” The last of the nine puppies purloined from the Sterling Animal Shelter was returned on Sunday afternoon after three weeks.

Scout, a female black Labrador mix, turned up in Clinton, in pretty good shape except for a laceration to one eye, shelter executive director Leigh Grady said.

All nine puppies were originally left in Worcester, but Scout was eventually handed off to a Clinton resident by a woman who said her sister was going to be evicted for keeping the puppy in her rented apartment.

The Clinton woman, whose identity has not been released, contacted police and the animal control officer in her town. Sterling police and Animal Control Officer Louis Massa were called to pick the Scout up in Clinton and identified her through an implanted microchip.

There was no indiction that the puppies were stolen for dog fighting, Detective David Johnson said.

“It looks like they were going to keep some dogs and sell the rest,” he said.

The case is still under investigation, Johnson said, although three Worcester residents have been arrested in connection with the case.

“We’ve had a lot of cooperation with the Worcester Police and Louis Massa was very helpful,” Johnson said.

Grady said Scout would be ready for adoption on Tuesday, just two days after her return.

The other eight puppies have all been adopted out to new homes, she said.

“Here we were searching all over the place and Scout turns up in Clinton,” Grady said. “I was so worried after she was gone for so long. I was afraid she had been abandoned in Worcester and I hated thinking about the danger she was in, from coyotes or cars."